The Fairchild Challenge at Phipps: Challenge #4

By Sahar Arbab

Challenge #4: Green Up Your School!

Do you feel a sense of calm in nature? Do you find that the sight of a green landscape can make you focus on a task?  Does the sound of running water relax you? Do singing birds make you happy? In order to have experiences like these, we often retreat from the built environment to areas untouched by human activity. We may do this because we live, work and learn in buildings that are disconnected from nature, which leads us to believe that the built and natural environment cannot coexist. What do you think? Can buildings provide access to nature? Proponents of biophilic design would say that buildings can provide us with shelter while simultaneously incorporating elements of nature through creative views, patterns, plants, water and various other approaches.   

For Challenge #4, we want you to research the principles behind biophilic design and then come up with a proposal for your school using these concepts. Pretend that money is not an issue! Have fun and feel free to try out new concepts and ideas.

This challenge is due at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens by Friday, February 5:

• Challenge Entry Form.
• One-page explanation of biophilia and biophilic design.
• One plan for how you will bring these principles to your school.
• Visual display (tri-fold, poster or blue-print layout).

We cannot wait to see what you create. Good luck!

For challenge details, follow this link: fairchildchallengeatphipps.org. Have questions? Contact Sahar Arbab at sarbab@phipps.conservatory.org  or 412-622-6915 x3905.